Project may block access of fishermen in Naga town Doris C. Bongcac Cebu Daily News
July 05, 2009
LIKE other residents of barangay Tinaan, Naga town in southern Cebu Jhonndro Macam looks to the coastline for livelihood with its abundance of shells and marine life.
With the Cebu provincial government’s plan to reclaim the foreshore of the 25-hectare beach resort property bought from the late Engr. Luis Balili last year, Macam only has one request.
“It would be good if they could reclaim the land because we might get jobs in whatever they plan to set up but it's better if they give us passage so we can use it for fishing,” he told Cebu Daily News in Cebuano.
The Capitol signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Kepco SPC Power Corp., last Thursday to build a waste disposal facility in the Balili property.
The area would receive fly ash to be generated by Kepco's coal plant once it starts operations in 2011.
Part of the ash waste will be used for a five-hectare reclamation project planned by the Capitol.
Gov. Gwen Garcia received a $500,000 check shortly after the MOA signing as advance payment.
Another $500,000 to be broken down into $300, 000 and $200, 000 will also be released to the Capitol upon the issuance of a notice of proceed once Kepco starts its operations.
More payments will be released to the Cebu provincial government for the duration of their 25-year exclusive contract.
Contract costs would increase by 10 percent every five years from its implementation.
Provincial Planning and Development Officer Adolfo Quiroga said the agreement with Kepco would provide fly ash which the Capitol needs to fill up three fish ponds, the swampy portion of the Balili lot and to reclaim at least five hectares of foreshore land fronting the property in barangay Tinaan.
Governor Garcia was authoreized by the Provincial Board in April 2008 to acquire the 25- hectare property worth about P100 million.
Tinaan residents said the late Engr. Balili set up the Balili beach resort which is about 100 meters from the national highway.
The beach resort enclosed in concrete and wooden fences has a two-storey beach house and some cottages.
On the left side of the beach resort is the Apo Cement port area.
Part of the Balili lot was later converted into a fishpond, where a Dutch investor grew shrimps and bangus. The fishpond operation was terminated a few years back.
Macam said the biggest fishpond continues to breed tilapia. While two smaller fishponds started to dry up, fishermen still find small crabs and shrimps which they collect and use as bait.
The bigger crabs they catch for food.
Macam said that women and children would also collect shellfish on the shoreline.
A portion of the Balili beach resort's dry land which is fronting the fishpond is now used for growing goats which the Cebu provincial government use in its goat dispersal project.
Quiroga said fly ash would be dumped to cover the fishpond and other wet portions of the property.
He told CDN that the provincial government also intends to reclaim at least five hectares of foreshore land for a port.
During low tide, part of the foreshore land is about five meters from the site road level.
Quiroga said the Capitol would use a portion of the $1 million initial payment from Kepco to build embankments to secure the reclamation area and prevent fly ash from flowing into the sea.
The province will buy “armor”, a type of rock from the Dolomite mining area in Alcoy town for the embankment, he said.
The inner portion of the embankment would be covered with geo-textile, a material used in landfills to prevent hazardous waste from seeping into the ground.
Quiroga said the use of fly ash as filling material is safe and fully supported by environmental officials.
